National Opinion Poll Reveals 70 per cent of Taiwanese Believe Animals Shouldn’t Suffer In The Name Of Beauty

TAIPEI - A public opinion poll in Taiwan reveals that the majority of Taiwanese consumers – 70 per cent – do not support animal testing for cosmetics, and more than 60 per cent want to see the law ban cosmetics cruelty. Be Cruelty-Free campaigners, the Taiwan SPCA and Humane Society International commissioned the poll. The nationwide poll conducted by Trend Survey and Research Co., of Taiwan, provides the first-ever snapshot of consumer attitudes toward animal testing for cosmetics in Taiwan. Taiwanese opposition to cosmetics animal testing is consistent with a growing global trend towards cruelty-free beauty. The Be Cruelty-Free campaign has commissioned similar polls in some of the world’s key cosmetics markets—Brazil, Canada, the United States, Japan, Australia and South Korea—which have shown that consumers the world over want to see an end to animal cruelty in the beauty products sector. Taiwan opinion poll results: · 69.7 per cent believe that beauty should not be based on animal suffering · 62.4 per cent support legislation to ban cosmetics animal testing · Of those who stated they feel strongly about the issue, the majority were women, and people aged 20-29 and 40-49. Connie Chiang, Executive Director of the TSPCA said: “Our Be Cruelty-Free opinion poll clearly shows that most people in Taiwan support an end to animal testing for cosmetics. Consumers understand that testing beauty products on live animals is unethical, especially because there are thousands of already-proven, safe ingredients that can be used for cosmetics, and more modern and reliable non-animal test methods. We are pushing for legislative change in Taiwan to ban cosmetics animal testing, and bring us in line with the European Union, Norway, Israel and India where such cruel and outdated testing has already been banned.”Be Cruelty-Free campaigning has resulted in legislative Bills being brought forward in Australia, Brazil, New Zealand and the United States. The Taiwan SPCA and HSI hope Taiwan can be the next country to protect animals from unnecessary suffering for the beauty industry. Claire Mansfield, HSI’s Global Be Cruelty-Free campaigns director, said “Animal testing for cosmetics causes pain, distress and death to tens of thousands of rabbits, guinea pigs and other animals. We’ve commissioned opinion polls globally, and we’re hearing the same clear message from consumers the world over – they want cosmetics animal suffering to end, now. Consumers in Taiwan are no different. We urge policy makers and companies to take heed of public opinion and work with the Be Cruelty-Free campaign to improve consumer safety and safeguard animal welfare by banning cosmetics animal testing once and for all.”Be Cruelty-Free Taiwan, led by the TSPCA and HSI, is part of the largest campaign in the world to end animal testing for cosmetics. Over the coming months, Be Cruelty-Free Taiwan is set to launch a number of awareness-raising and education campaigns throughout the country that are likely to further increase public support for a test ban. Be Cruelty-Free Taiwan is grateful for the high-level political support it has already received from Legislators Tien Chiu-Chin, Chen Shei-Saint, Liu Chien-Kuo, Hsiao Bi-khim, Wang Yu-Min and Lin Hsu Shao-Ping.Global opinion polls on cosmetics animal testing: · 69.7 per cent of Taiwanese believe beauty should not be based on animal suffering · 81 per cent of Canadians support a national ban on cosmetics animal testing · 70 per cent of South Koreans support a national ban on cosmetics animal testing · 66 per cent of Brazilians support a national ban on cosmetics animal testing · 50 per cent of Japanese feel strongly about the issue of cosmetics animal testing (with 89 per cent saying companies shouldn’t use ingredients that require animal testing) · 62 per cent of Americans believe cosmetics animal testing should be illegal For more information on the Be Cruelty-Free Taiwan campaign, please visit: www.spca.org.tw ENDSNotes: Taiwanese survey company- “Trend Survey and Research Co.” conducted a nation-wide poll in May 2014, with 1068 samples and a confidence level of 95% (margin of error +-3%).